A young woman who collapsed and died in a city centre toilet on Tuesday afternoon has been described as a “lovely but incredibly vulnerable person”.

Emma Slater, believed to be 30 years old, was discovered in the ladies toilets at Canterbury Lane off Burgate at 12.45pm.

A tearful woman who had been with Emma at a city centre cafe earlier flagged down a passing police car and moments later there were two ambulances and six police cars at the scene.

It was thought she had passed out and then was not able to be revived.

Police remained at the scene well into the afternoon and kept the ladies' toilets secured. They have described her death as “sudden and unexplained”.

Emma suffered with mental and physical health issues. She had spent time in secure mental health units and had slept rough on the streets of Canterbury.

But Catching Lives, the homelessness charity based at Station Road East, had been working with Emma for seven years and says it had recently found her a home.

"She was a lovely but incredibly vulnerable person. She was always extremely nice" - Catching Lives manager Terry Gore

Centre manager Terry Gore said: “We were all absolutely gutted when we heard Emma had died.

“She was a lovely but incredibly vulnerable person. She was always extremely nice and I never heard her shout or become upset.

"But her vulnerability meant that she was sometimes taken advantage of by men or had fallen in with people who took drugs.

“Recently we had been working with the council and had managed to find her a home.”

Police have passed a file on Emma’s death to the coroner and it is likely that an inquest will take place later.